The Rescue of Selina Kyle
by Titania Le Fey
Summary: A NY to Batman crossover involving Catwoman in Arkham.
1. Caught

Snake hated facing this job but even with that he knew it had to be done. Selina was still inside that hell and his own trailing dogs were getting to close. His family was all too aware of what was going on but no one said anything about it. The change in his behavior was enough. They knew Snake was going on a job that he was nervous about.

Even with the stress he spent the morning having a big family breakfast. All he wanted to do was spend time with them before he went off for who knew how long. He planned on only a few days but something could go wrong. Usually it did one way or another. The afternoon he spent with Bria, Evie and the four little ones not doing much at all. It was all about time because he didn't know when he'd see them next. Much to his surprise Evie took the little ones out and left him with Bria for awhile. All he could do was hold her and talk about how much he loved her. Snake knew that talk came with going in where death could easily come.

Even in the calm he had to tell her why he was going. The honest part of him didn't stop even for things he wanted to hide. She understood it was for a friend and that he needed to get people off their trail before something happened to the family. He was sure she understood but part of her was unreadable. Though as much as he might have liked to he did not tell her how he planned on accomplishing any of this. She never asked and Plissken returned to snuggling her for a time before the twins and Cassie were with them again. There he stayed not wanting to move while time ticked away.

Sooner or later he had to go. It took time and lots of promises that he would be back as soon as he could. He meant it. He hated leaving them but this was part of his life. For once he was understanding how his father felt when he was a kid. Snake had never imagined it was this difficult. Pulling away from the curb while waving to Cassie on the porch had been hard but the other options were not even choices.

Miles went by before he settled into the drive. Determination leeched back in as he mulled over the plot he'd contrived. It had to be believable but he couldn't go on instinct because that would lead to escape. He needed caught this time. That was why he was driving a stolen car. He left everything at home, his wallet, his guns, everything. This was a mission and they would get in the way. Snake also had no desire to have those things taken from him again.

Slowly he pulled up outside the fence of the Disease research facility. Plissken had figured if he was going to get caught he might as well do a job while he was at it. No sense in wasting time or effort. He wasn't here to steal. For once Plissken was the distraction for someone else to slip in for a job. That was usually his place, the sneaky one. Today that place belonged to someone else. This job would take more biological know how than he had. Snake was fine with that. Distractions were a dime a dozen when he put his mind to it.

Snake started up the stolen truck again slowly heading for the gate. His eye roved over the compound as he crawled to a stop. It was the usual rap from a guard who was underpaid and terrified of the hammer of the gods that would crash down on them if anyone unauthorized got by. Today was an unlucky day to be out on gate duty. Plissken cold-cocked the guard who approached. Only a glimpse of the shocked expression on the other's face caught Plissken's attention before he floored it and smashed through the chain link.

Now it was time for fun and a bit of cat and mouse. Swarms of black clad devils came out of the main building like clock work. They ran for their vehicles and Plissken took a chance for some fun. Revving the engine he drove right toward the pack. Men scattered as he slammed into a smaller jeep, threw it in reverse and sped off to the far end of the compound.

By the time he glanced up into the rearview a whole mess of jeeps were coming up fast. That was just what he wanted. Five minutes of keeping them busy out here and away from the inside. Snake spun his vehicle and headed back into the crowd of oncoming vehicles. He couldn't help but laugh, some scattered and others played his game of chicken. He swerved at the last second taking a side mirror with him. This was way too much fun.

Even so he knew he had to make it look like he was here for something other than a joy ride. Snake rocketed toward the vehicle storage area. All the bases were laid out the same. They hadn't changed the layout since he had served which seemed rather ridiculous. He slid the truck to a stop and dashed inside of the biggest building. He could still hear the others outside as he raced through the vehicles looking for something he might believably try to steal.

The answer came clearly as he rounded a corner. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before. Hummer-like but amphibious, compact comparatively and had a massive turret. Too bad this wasn't a real job where he could make off with it. Still a joy ride was better than nothing. Plissken punched up the security terminal and easily cracked in to open the doors. People figured getting inside was too hard so they never put tough security inside.

He was in the vehicle and had it hotwired just as his door opened. A gun came in and Plissken kicked the owner in the face. It was another chase. People were starting to scream outside. Plissken slammed his door shut only to find the inside was sound proof. That was rather odd for a military vehicle as were some of the controls. That was when it hit him. The damned thing wasn't just amphibious. It was completely submersible. A rolling damn submarine.

The thoughts that went through his mind distracted him so much that he missed the collision. The jolt knocked the wind out of him but worse was the fact he was boxed in. This was it, he was caught. Now he just hoped his companion got in and got out with what they needed. The only other worry was staying alive enough to bust Selina out. With the humming look on the guards surrounding the vehicle he knew they were out for blood, his blood. His asylum stay might turn out longer than he planned.

As he stepped out hands up Plissken really hoped he was wrong.

**...To Be Continued...**


	2. Arrival

Snake came too with a haze of memories. He remembered being surrounded and the jolt of a shock stick burying into his side. That alone was reason enough to stay still. The burn would likely still be angry with pain. Plissken opened his eye to the blinding white light. Solitary again. He was naked on a bare metal bed in light brighter than the sun it seemed. He blinked and slowly sat up. Parts of his body ached but for once he didn't feel beaten. That was a nice change of events.

The door cracked open and a nightmare came through. The white coat wasn't what bothered him but the logo patched on it. He knew that symbol all too well. It was the one for the corps who created the ATACS. What the hell were they doing at Arkham? Plissken was on his feet and backing away. Like all the people working here they never said a word to him. No one spoke to him even if they spoke about him. Imprisonment was one thing but these men were not something he would let get a hold of him again.

Driven back into the corner of the small cell Plissken started to panic. There were few things that caused his willpower to crash into blind running but the memories of wires in his head and the machines were enough. The first to get near enough dropped to the floor dead. It was a fight. He might get beat but he wasn't going to go back into their hell freely. It didn't last long. He could fight a lot of things but when they backed out and started pumping gas into the room Snake knew he was screwed. Still he fought the effects as his eye watered from the poison. It was always gas. No man could fight it forever and the world went dark again.


	3. Skinner Box

Plissken opened his eye. The whole conscious to unconscious and back routine was getting old. He was sitting up and the moment he tried to get up that something was very wrong. Strapped to a chair was the last place he wanted to be but the electrodes on his wrists and the ones on his shoulders were the part he hated. Snake struggled anyway.

"Relax. Those restraints are strong enough even to hold a slippery viper like you."

Snake frowned at the man with a hard scowl etched into his skin. He looked like a nightmare within the one Plissken was already seeing.

"I've got a few questions for you Mr. Plissken. I'm sure you'll answer them, right?"

"Snake." Plissken hissed.

"Mr. Plissken. That is not your name. Now questions. You can answer or you can get shocked and we both know how much you like shock treatment."

Snake wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing how much he hated being shocked. He loathed it almost as much as needles.

"First what were you doing at that facility?"

"Stealing a vehicle." Snake answered. Job aside he had stole that vehicle.

"Wrong answer."

The jolt came hot like a pinching spasm in his back but Plissken let none of the pain into his expression. He barely let himself flinch.

"Now, answer the question."

"Why was I in a stolen vehicle?" Snake retorted. What were they going to do, shock him? They were going to do that anyway.

The interrogator faltered and shocked him again. "I will ask the questions. What were you doing?"

"Stealing a prototype vehicle." Snake felt the next shock before it came. This went on for twenty minutes but Plissken never faltered. Surly and unhappy the interrogator left the room. Plissken was still strapped down and attempted to slip the cuffs. He couldn't no matter how he tried. He had no way to tell the time but he was getting drowsy by the time he heard the door again.

The unmistakable sound of heels clicked up behind but stayed out of his field of visions.

"Mr. Plissken?"

The voice sounded familiar but he couldn't place it. He had been tortured in here before and wrote it off as one of his previous tormentors.

"You have a family on the outside?"

"I did." Snake replied as coolly as he could.

"You do have one."

"I did until you bastards murdered them."

"Tsk Tsk." The shock came harder this time, hotter to the back and the arms. His whole body clenched up. "You know what family I was speaking about."

Snake remained quiet trying to collect his senses through the involuntary tremors that raced through his muscles.

"The family."

Snake remained quiet through another prolonged round of shocks. Again he was alone but this time the lights went out. Plissken forced himself to relax and listened to the darkness. Time passed again and the door opened but no light came in.

"How do you know Selina Kyle?" The voice was indeterminate this time but Plissken thought it was male.

"Who?" Snake asked trying to focus on the position of the voice.

"She goes by Catwoman."

"Never heard of her." Snake wasn't going to give them anything no matter what they did.

"We know you have had intimate relations with her on at least one occasion."

"Shame I missed it. Must've been too drunk." Snake scoffed.

"Are you admitting to a crime?"

"Isn't that one on my record?" For his retort electricity burned into his body.

"Now you know that only I can ask questions." There was a pause in the dark. Snake swore he heard a second person there with the questioner.

"What were you doing at the facilities when you were arrested?"

Back to the questions. "Stealing a vehicle."

No shock came this time but a bright light focused on his lap. Snake blinked feeling his eye well up with tears. His bad eye started to pound as the intensity of the light filtered through the stitched seam of his patch. The light was blinding.

"What were you doing at the facilities?"

Snake's vision cleared. A gleam passed by his field of vision in a white gloved hand, with a white coat sleeve but the body was out in the dark. Straining he turned to see it. There was a metal needle in those hands. Snake panicked so furiously that the metal chair dumped over. The conditioned response to all the times he'd been shot up with experimental drugs, explosives and tracking devices had taken their toll on his mind.

Kicking wildly he ripped his leg free of the upset chair. Curling in he kicked the approaching hand. Metal clattered somewhere in the darkness after the needle flew from the lighted area. The all consuming desire to flee from a needle gave him strength. His hand slipped free of the sweat soaked cuff. Only seconds passed before he was up and loose.

The lights went out leaving Plissken in the dark with an unknown number of people. His eye was seeing bright hazy blotches in a rainbow of colors. He tried to focus. Something touched him and he swung. There was nothing there. Paranoia ran high but fear and the desire to flee kept it at bay. Watching the darkness he heard a weapon cock.

Snake had no idea where it came from as the click echoed eerily in the metal chamber. He was afraid to stand still and terrified to move. A prick hit him in the side. Needles, they were shooting him with needles! Plissken panicked again ripping the needle free of his side. Naked and wary as a cornered animal he knew they'd stay away. He also knew they could see in here while he couldn't. Still he was reluctant to give up.

Another needle caught him and doubled him over. His insides felt like they were about to turn inside out. Plissken fell to the ground retching but still he fumbled and pulled the needle free. Humming started but Snake thought it might have been in his head. It grew louder. It filled his head threatening to push away any thought he tried to have. Suddenly the far side of the room arched blue. Plissken barely registered it before the sharp jolt hit him everywhere he touched the floor.

There was no time to realize he was shocked before unconsciousness came. Plissken didn't know the drugs they pumped into him after his mind went black. He didn't feel them drag him through the halls to his stark room where the electrical burns on his back and arms rubbed raw against the floor. He felt nothing but blissful cold but that wouldn't last long.

**...To Be Continued...**


	4. Aftermath

When he woke the first thing he noticed was the pain searing into his back. It was nothing new for where he was. The nausea hadn't passed but he couldn't quite remember where it came from. It took all his effort to sit up. Waves of nausea pounded through him as he swung his legs off the side of the metal bed. He couldn't see straight. What little he could see was surrounded by a rainbow of halos that merged with the blindingly bright light in the cell.

Every breath had the clogged feeling in his throat like vomit was coming but it never did. Settling as much as he could in the spinning bright colored room his eye focused on a table. It hadn't been there before. There was a plate of food on it. As soon as he saw it, he could smell it. He hadn't eaten since he arrived and the saliva started running. He was starving. Even hungry he didn't trust it. Anything could be in that stuff. His eye stayed on it for a long time before looking away. He'd gone hungry before.

Of all the things the hardness of everything was most annoying. It aggravated old wounds, particularly his shoulder and the injuries to his ribs. He couldn't get comfortable. The cold made it worse and more aches started. Surly as those made him, Snake could feel withdraw coming on. Soon he'd rage and then what? He wanted painkillers most of all but the coke was calling too.

Plissken lay back trying to calm his mind. Everything was going wrong in here. He still didn't know where Selina was in this accursed place. Tomorrow he would start looking after he rested a little and the pain stopped. Later he could do it.

* * *

After another day or maybe it was a night of torture he could barely remember Hope's visit. He wasn't even sure if it was real. It could have been a dream. It could have been hallucinations. He had no idea. There had been more pain. If one could get used to torture it might be said Snake was. The haze was gone. They'd given him something to take the coke cravings away. That did some good for his mental stability.

It wasn't enough though with the pain. He had seen Selina being taken down a hall in the West End of the building. He'd done everything in his power to find out where she was being taken. It didn't help but it did narrow the search down some. Still the insanity was there. He was still afraid but like an over shocked dog in an experiment he didn't pull back anymore. He simply let them come in and take him down the hall. They'd question him, shock him, stab him with needles and he'd wake up back in the same room.

The more Snake thought about it the less he was sure it was the same room. Did it matter what room he was in? They all seemed to be the same. They were too bright with no windows, one door, a metal bed and toilet. No sink though the table came and went he still didn't eat the food. Three days and he was starting to get sick. He was going to have to risk eating and drinking soon. Maybe the next time they came in.

His mind was on Hope again. He still wasn't sure if he saw the real her. There was too much of a chance he was hallucinating or something worse. He sat against the wall staring at where she had sat if this was the same room. Maybe she had sat in some other room. Maybe not at all. Then there was Bria and the children. He hoped they were safe. Some part of his mind feared what had happened after Leningrad. He feared he would come home to death. An image of Cassie with a bullet in her head flashed in his mind.

He panicked and about fainted from fear as his blood pressure spiked too fast. The wooziness forced him to stop and think. He was sure they were fine. He had to convince himself that they were waiting for him or he would lose his mind in here. Plissken sighed and tried to clear his mind so he could think up a plan.


	5. Escape

The first memories he had when his mind began to wake were of Hope and Aeonia. He still couldn't remember if they had been there or not. Were they real? He had no way of telling but there was something in his mind as he opened his eye to the blinding light. It took a moment to focus on it through the panic of being electrocuted again. It was music.

Snake glanced around looking for the source. It was not loud but it seemed to drown out the interrogator. The first jolts he felt but soon even that was pushed aside by the music. Plissken could do nothing more than stare as the songs went on over and over. The two played infinitely into a never ending loop. He fell into the songs, into each note. There was no pain to the torture, no harsh words, only music.

The floating feeling came. He'd had it once long ago when he was shot and dying. In the moments when awareness and near unconsciousness met Snake saw the hall pass as he returned to the square cell that was his prison. The music faded to a dull hum. He could barely grasp the songs any longer as he was laid on the hard metal slab. The good eye jolted open to face the asylum worker over him. Music rushed back and instinct kicked in.

Plissken snatched his head and threw his shoulders into a twist. The snap and the body fell on him limp. Music still roared in his head. The song was clear now. Snake sung along as he glanced out the door. No one. He pulled it nearly closed before stripping his victim. Plissken pulled on the clothes before neatly arranging the naked body. He had to twist it some to hide the lack of tattoos. It was good enough.

The whole outfit annoyed him. Nothing fit quite right but it would do. Rushing but not enough to be suspicious. West was all he knew and 124. The place seemed enormous as he started to walk the halls. He passed a window stopped and headed back. The sun was shining outside. It had been days since he'd seen sunlight or known what time of day it was. The sun felt amazing with the music still playing in his mind.

The tempo in his head changed cuing Snake that it was time to move on. He needed to find Selina. The numbers got closer to hers, 100, 115. He watched them go on to 122 and the hall ended. Where was 124? Snake tried not to panic as he stood in front of 122. After a moment his eye settled on the window in 122. Beyond he could see 123. This was the way. Plissken didn't see a handle, no security lock, no nothing. How did it open?

Stepping closer to investigate the door swung in. Snake jumped, nearly crying out from surprise. A deep breath and he settled back into the music. The other side was much less sterile looking than his wing. It reminded him of a modern, clean lined apartment building. It barely registered as he stalked to the door. 124.

Plissken knocked before slowly opening the door and looking inside. He wanted to call out to her but figured a worker wouldn't. He closed the door behind him when he saw Selina sitting on the couch. Her back was to him.

"Hello."


End file.
